


To Rebuild a Home

by Bronze_and_navy_is_creating



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Development, F/M, Family, Fatherhood, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Parenthood, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rebuilding, Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:14:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28235262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bronze_and_navy_is_creating/pseuds/Bronze_and_navy_is_creating
Summary: Post season three:After being pushed through the portal by his wife, Vlad finds himself confronted with the thing he fears most, regret.This is a fic about a father rebuilding his relationship with his son. And a young man growing to be himself once more against all odds.
Relationships: Dracula/Lisa (Castlevania), Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades
Comments: 7
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has the finale of season three as slightly a syncronis and some odd interpretations on lore here and there but over all it is still very much based on the show.

Time worked differently in the realm of chaos. But chronology did exist at least. And Vlad had, in order, died and found his wife in his realm. He had expressed what had occured and all at once, yet stretched for the time they were there, she greived for his actions. There was pain. Guilt. But somehow also still a love, however damaged. And in a second and a millina, the portal opened. Vlad clung tightly to his wife, trying to banish the intrusion on their unification. But it was lisa, a spirit of stronger will, who pushed him through. She gave only one departing message as his soul began quickly taking physical shape: Take care of our son. 

There was a breathless pause in the chamber beneath the priory. Vlad felt everything at once. Anger at being seperate from his wife. Guilt for his son. Fear of his own actions. 

All of this made his form erupt into flames. He saw for a second a demon and a man falling through another portal as it closed, as well as his son's friends. He wanted to lash out of course, but a better thought came to mind. One of a more pressing urgance as the previous portal closed shut. The castle had portals too.

So, he took the form of a commet, traveling beneath a darkening sky, to the castle that always called. Leaving a terrified speaker and hunter behind in a collapsing town. 

He traveled at record speeds home. It was home still. And his tomb if he were honest. Every brick held a memory of loneliness. However, every door, every couch and warm study nook, held the memory of his wife and son. And it was on those two that his mind was drawn as he landed on his steps. He only needed to open the portal to get Lisa. 

It had been a great surprise to see Lisa in his own realm of chaos. He had thought surely, she would have been in heaven as she was so good. It had been her ties to him that made her land in his own realm at death. Had he known before he would have simply brought her home. And now he could, and that was what he told himself as he opened the door. 

Something wasn't right. He smelled faint scents of semi recent occupation. However the air was stagnant. Dust on floors that would have to be tread to access the living nescesities told him no one had been moving in the castle for some time. But he could still smell life. He was by nature, a very detail oriented person. So his eyes trained on the smallest things, looking for signs of life. He was starting to grow worried for his son, who he could predominantly smell. He checked rooms belonging to strangers and noted no bag had been packed, and yet no one had accessed the kitchen, which was easiest to get to by crossing the main hall. No foot prints. Dust everywhere. Bits of debris in certain rooms still. He was starting to grow very concerned for his son. 

And he was right to be worried as he neared a room he'd been avoiding his last year of life. The bedroom he and Lisa shared. The room smelled of death. 

His first omen of concern were the flies that seemed to fly lazily under the door as he approached. Cautiously he pushed it open and froze at the sight. It took a lot to horrify the vamperic God of Chaos. But this did. On the bed were three corpses. Two at the feet looking half decomposed, clearly having been there for a few weeks now. And in the middle, his worst nightmare. His sons apparent corpse, nude and dead, held by tight bands of silver that encased his entire figure. Vlad wanted to look away but couldn't. His eyes falling mainly on the face, studying it as his knees have out from under him. Adrians cheeks were hollowed, eyes wide and staring. His normal golden hair, so soft and gentle, were in dull mats around his head. His mouth was open, an eternal scream. Gums bloodied from lack of food or blood. He had starved to death like that. Alone and surrounded by corpses. In agony from the silver that carved to the bone, exposing necrotic flesh that maggots were more than happy to enjoy. Ribs showing as he looked so skeletal.

Vlad wanted to look away. But he couldn't. He couldn't move. Or breath. Or think. That was until he saw the most terrifying and amazing thing as his son, who he had assumed dead, finally look at him, blinking a bit, as if trying to focus on his father but too weak to even do that. 

Vlad had never moved so fast. He did not even wince as he snapped off the silver, causing his hands to smoke slightly. He started to pull off the silver, completely in the mindset of a doctor. Adrian for his part only made slight grunsts as the silver was half ripped out of poorly healed or exposed flesh. His ribs and wrists had it the worst, and needed to be cleaned of maggots and rot. But he got off the silver, throwing it to the floor. He didn't hesitate to scoop him up and whisk him from the room to treat, his only thought being to save him.


	2. Chapter 2

Vlad started to treat him the moment he laid him on a lab table. This room, so special to the little family, had not been touched in nearly two years. But it had all their medical supplies and was mercifully intact. He started to clear away any debree, disgusting insects and all. Constantly his eyes darting to his sons face which had barely moved. His mouth was stuck open in a type of lockjaw that Vlad was beginning to suspect had something to do with an issue vampires had when staying still too long. His eyes however managed to close and his breathing shallow but present, hitching anytime a tender wound was messed with. His heart was so weak but steady. His son needed blood but only after all had been cleaned, as vampires and dhampires alike could accidentally heal over unwanted debris. 

His wounds were severe. So severe in fact he had not even thought about how he would have gotten them beyond it was silver. He only could focus on how deep the cuts were over what he assumed weeks, judging by how skeletal his son was and the level of decomposition those corpses were in. He winced at the necrotic tissue that had formed along his arm and thigh. Those were too dead even for vamperism to cure. Blackened flesh in a long strip on his leg. He grabbed a stashed bottle of blood and gently held him up, having to coax Adrian into drinking it. Despite his open eyes, he was entirely catonic. His eyes glazed and barely tracking movement. Still the blood would help. 

Once the blood was drained he started trimming away necrotic flesh, some how even more worried by the lack of reaction his son had at this. Only flinching the slightest bit. 

Once that was finished Vlad cleaned all wounds once more and began wrapping him. He found some releif that Adrian fell asleep near the end and was left to clean up the rest. He hoped the blood would heal his mouth as well. Venom pooling from starvation could damage gums he knew and in a dhampire he didn't want to know what health complications that would give. Even vampires would occasionally lose and regrow fangs from it. But all he could do was give him blood and a small IV. 

After an hour work Adrian was on the lab bed, wrapped and covered in a thin sheet, propped up on pillows and at least resting. 

Vlad sighed in relief as he pulled up a chair to sit with him through the day and night, making sure he was stable. 

In that time he was able to piece together what happened. And for a moment he considered going to the corpses to set them ablaze right then. But he didn't want to leave Adrian, incase something went wrong. He eventually decided that after he found Lisa he would. 

Lisa...

She consumed nearly his every thought. If he wasn't actively tending to Adrian in some way it all went right back to her. Why did she push him here? She didn't know what was wrong with Adrian. Did she hate him and finally got rid of him? Would she come home if he asked her to front he portal? Would he selfishly drag her through? Maybe she'd come for their son? 

These were the thoughts that plegued him through that first full twenty four hours. And when that time was up, Vlad had determined his son was stable, and would likely be in this state for another day or two. After all dhampires and vampires both tended to sleep to heal. So, he could take a look at that engine room. 

This was perhaps the dustiest room he'd encountered so far. It was very clear that Adrian had not even tried to repair this room, which intrigued Vlad for a moment as he inspected the gears. Was it because Adrian had a mild distaste for engineering? He doubted it was lack of know how, Adrian was extremely intelligent, just like his mother. Maybe he wanted it to be stationed here? Regardless it was frustrating. It would take weeks if not months to repair it enough to open it's portal. But. He needed to. His late wife haunted him, especially here. She was in the stones. The sky. The very air he breathed.

Vlad was unaware of how much time had passed. He only knew the smell of reforging metal and the clang of solid cogs as they were slid back into place. He himself acted like the machine he was trying to rebuild. Mechanical and complicated. He eventually tuned out everything, even his thoughts as he worked. Eventually however, consciousness left him as well. After all, he hadn't slept in over a year. So as he leaned over one massive cog his body decided to stay there as he slept...  
Vlad stepped through the front door, relief evident in his shoulders as he did so. The main hall was lit with a soft glow and hum of electricity. And his son, looking to be about 9 in appearance, was utterly ecstatic to see him. He ran at inhuman speed to cling to his legs. Vlad grinned and scooped him up, holding him close as he always did. He was so small. So utterly sweet in a way that was entirely Adrian. He babbled on about something to do with wolves and honeycakes for a while. It was pleasant to hear after the small village trip. Vlad taking him to the kitchens. Then in normal dream logic when he opened the kitchen door it was far later and it was Adrian's bedroom door. Inside was his son, wide awake and shaking. Vlad instictually sat with him, pulling him into his arms. He had a nightmare about the village incident again. He hadn't slept right in so long from that. Having nightmare after nightmare about it. That day was particularly bad. But Vlad or Lisa always came when he called out for them. 

Usually it was Vlad. He hated waking his wife and Adrian seemed to respond better to Vlad's comfort. He assumed it had something to do with the fact it had been Vlad to save him at the market weeks ago. He held him as he always did, talking about many things, this time space. Using the ceiling which, in the dream, looked like an odd metal sponge but he didn't seem to mind. When his son seemed to be dozing again he retucked him in. He kissed his forehead saying, as he did Everytime he comforted his son from a nightmare "I'll protect you, always"...

Vlad gasped awake just in time to slide off the gear he was drapped over and fall unceremoniously to the ground with a thud. He didn't move though. Playing over in his mind the dream. 

It broke him. 

Dreams, he had learned, tended to bring up what was feared most. That one repressed thought you ignored for so long, springing up the moment you could not ignore it. And for Vlad... It was failure. He had become the thing he swore he never would be to his son. A monster. One that would try to kill him not once, but twice. And then, the moment he was back and able to maybe help fix some damage, to be a father, he was chasing his love life. Lisa he knew, was safe in a way, and could be brought back at anytime. Adrian however was alive. And hurting... 

Lisa's last message to him played in his greif stricken mind and he understood. Standing he swallowed back a few bloodied tears. Closing his eyes he promised to his sleeping son floors above "I won't fail you again..." 

Little did he know, said son had already risen. And had finally managed to wake his way to the engine room, weak but some what conscious. He remembered distantly his father saving him, which confused him and gave him slight hope.

However as quickly as he gained hope, he lost it again at those words. His father wouldn't fail his mother again... 

And just like that, the broken Dhampire used the last of his magic to become mist, and slip away to a place he knew his father would not go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the drama really begins. 
> 
> Thank you a for the support so far! If you like please kudo/comment.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed please comment/kudos. I really appreciate it!


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